Where To Eat in May: Club 77, Beau & Dough, Armorica, and More

Everything you touch at Re has had a previous life, from the menu (which is printed on recycled coffee cups) to the tabletops and counter (produced from 82,000 milk bottles). Matt Whiley’s award-winning bar has long been recognised for its sustainable approach and it continues to reinvent scraps and ‘unwanted’ goods in smart ways: it’s currently taking 10 of the most-wasted foods and spinning them into cocktails. The Logan Brae Orchards drink, for instance, features sake crafted from leftover rice from neighbouring Cantonese-Australian canteen Lucky Kwong, flavoured with banana butter and a concoction called “lacto muscat apple”. The fruity remains from that boozy product – and rice flour repurposed from broken grains in the Marlivale Farm cocktail – are further transformed into an apple cake that garnishes the beverage. Nothing wasted.

You wouldn’t expect a dish inspired by beloved Cantonese institution Golden Century at a manoush joint, but you’ll find one at Beau & Dough. Executive chef Jacqui Challinor has taken her love of the smashed cucumber salad and reinterpreted it with a double-punch of garlic (the ingredient is finely chopped and also richly confited) and infused with lemon zest, Turkish isot pepper and hot oil. It’s nicely offset with a creamy, yoghurt-like buffalo feta. Her new head chef Troy Spencer (Nola Smokehouse and Bar) has some worthy additions to the menu, too: he takes potato offcuts, dries them in the fire and uses them to flavour the buttermilk dressing he serves with his deep-fried cauliflower and herby zhoug.

But of course, manoush is the drawcard at this daytime venue and you can enjoy it plain with whipped tahini, stuffed with za’atar and three kinds of haloumi or lavished with burnt honey ice-cream, Iranian pistachio crumbs and hot halva.

For reservations, call (02) 9280 3395.

As critic Callan Boys wrote recently in Good Weekend, this neighbourhood wine bar levelled up from a good place to settle in for a glass to an “excellent place to drink wine” once award-winning sommelier Bridget Raffal joined in 2020. Her radar for spotlighting noteworthy winemakers (particularly female talent) was evident from her previous gig at three-hatted Sixpenny. Boys also directed the spotlight at a more recent addition to the team, chef Leila Khamza, and her smart take on rustic comfort take – particularly dishes that showcase her Egyptian-Lebanese roots. Her offering of malfouf – cabbage rolls packed with rice and spiced lamb, plated with a tangy dollop of herbed yoghurt – might qualify as a good example of this.

There’s a good reason to find refuge at Flyover Fritterie, given its autumn-friendly menu of warming dosa potato jaffles, khichiri selection and well-spiced chai. Another reason is the gun team, overseen by owner Gunjan Aylawadi – together, they explore the immense diversity of Indian cuisine in creative ways. Dhruv Sadaphal (who was previously at two-hatted restaurant Fred’s) recently presented an interpretation of Kashmiri yakhni pulao made with local pine mushrooms, while Sushma Suryanarayan (Oncore by Clare Smyth) offered a remix of the ubiquitous Basque cheesecake that took its culinary cues from kalakand (a boiled-milk sweet). It’s worth watching what they do next.

For reservations, call 0405 647 695.

Even on a quiet Wednesday night, you might spot a queue for Yakitori Yurippi. That’s because there’s much to love about this North Sydney gem by the Nomidokoro Indigo crew: it aptly channels the smoky feels-like-Japan charm of cosy venues dealing in well-charred skewers and beer. And sure, you can order classic cuts of chicken straight off the grill, but you can also request king mushrooms glazed in soy butter, zucchini slices rubbed with miso and charred onigiri, too. Don’t overlook the aptly named “addictive” (yamitsuki) cabbage flavoured with salty-sweet konbu threads and a rich slick of sesame oil – it lives up to its name.

Armorica refers to an ancient stretch of northern France, but this restaurant evokes a more recent development: the classic Parisian brasserie. This is the plush new venue for the team behind Parlar and Franca, and while you might find some French staples on the menu (steak frites, duck fat potatoes), executive chef Jose Saulog reveals a few leftfield twists too (think tomato gratin with Provencal crumb or king prawns with escargot XO sauce and steamed buns).

For reservations, call (02) 9145 2990.

When Bloodwood opened its doors in early 2010, the polenta chips with gorgonzola sauce were on the menu. It became a hit dish and one of the restaurant’s go-to items. When chef-owner Claire Van Vuuren finally retired it after a hefty 12-year-run, the reaction was … well, strong is one way of putting it. As Good Food reported, she even had people shouting at her from across the road in protest. But as she told Bianca Hrovat: “The polenta chips have big shoes to fill, but they’ve been replaced by some pretty incredible dishes.” Perhaps the crushed rosemary and garlic baby potatoes with tangy cream could be its successor? Or the long-time favourite, pecan pâté, which is so good you can buy it by the jar?

This hatted Asian smokehouse has just opened a Melbourne outpost, but it’s worth revisiting the OG location. Yes, the restaurant makes a signature out of fiery flavours (from smoked beef short ribs with sauteed kale to smoked chicken katsu with Chinese barbecue sauce), but Yan also quietly achieves on other fronts: its braised wintermelon is a real surprise, while the yuba with walnut, salted celery and a reviving sesame dressing is another worthwhile order. The mega-sized coconut extravaganza – where a mountain of coconut-flake-topped ice-cream towers over the fruit’s husk – is designed for some very big appetites.

For reservations, call (02) 9599 8712.

If you’ve danced or dated some time in the past 25 or so years, you’ve probably spent a few (very late) hours at Club 77. The night club continues to host a rotating program of local DJs and music (with Ben Fester, Deepa, Deepchild and Cassius Select scheduled for May) and is home to a party-friendly curfew, but some things have evolved, too – there are no-gronis and booze-free drinks on the menu and you can even order a vegan mushroom, hemp and sumac hot dog. And you can also book a booth or group tables (there’s even room for 25 of your friends, if your scheduling skills can land a mutual free date among everyone).

When Jinja opened last year, it got attention for its lavish dishes, such as a signature wagyu fried rice and lobster san choy bao. Recently chef Sebastian Tan has expanded the menu to include yum cha, which is offered with endless serves of Keemun black tea (which has been referred to as the “queen of black tea” and is said to be as fragrant as China’s spring rain). Here, you can notch up multiple quantities of black garlic prawn wontons, chicken sticky rice in lotus leaf, vegetable truffle fried rice, coconut mango puddings and much more.